Philip Thompson, Jr. M.D.
May 11, 1917 to June 19, 2019
Philip Pickering Thompson, Jr. M.D. age 102, a well-known and loved physician in Portland, died June 19, 2019 at 75 State Street where he had lived for the past 7 years. He was born May 11, 1917, the son of Jennie Means and Philip Pickering Thompson, Sr. MD.
He was predeceased by his loving wife Mary Rines Thompson, a prominent businesswoman, community member and president of Maine Broadcasting System, who died in 1992 of Alzheimer’s disease. He was also predeceased by his brother John Thompson of South Portland and his sister Jane Tukey of Bangor.
Phil Thompson, or Dr. Phil, as he was called by his many friends and caregivers, loved the city of Portland having grown up on State Street and attended Butler Elementary School and Portland High School. He graduated from Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital.
During World War II he was a medical officer in the US Army from 1942 to 1945 earning one Bronze Star and a medical infantry badge. He served during the war in Algeria, Sicily and Italy. After the war he settled in South Portland and practiced internal medicine and rheumatology at Maine Medical Center retiring in 1995 after 54 years of practice, 48 of them at Maine Medical Center.
He leaves 6 children; William and his wife Augustiina; Frederic and his wife Bibi; Audrey Price and her husband Terry; Julie Fralich and her husband Michael; Benjamin and his wife Tatiana Green; and Nathaniel. He leaves 17 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren – all of whom were inspired by his annual gifts of poetry and historical biographies, philosophical musings of life lessons and his daily example of a life led to its fullest.
Dr. Phil had a wide range of interests from medicine to high speed rails to history, literature, music and the arts. He loved fly fishing, could recite poems from Rumi and Rimbaud, was fascinated by the connection between China, the Silk Road and the Etruscans, and enjoyed the music of Mozart, Mahler, and Beethoven. He was an avid reader and on the walls of his apartment at 75 State Street he had prints of Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman and a photo by Todd Webb, a notable American photographer who was a long-time patient and friend.
He was deeply committed to the city of Portland and was a frequent (and often unconventional) contributor to the opinion page of the Portland Press Herald. In his lifetime he saw extraordinary change in the city of Portland. He often reminisced about the trolley cars in the city; dances at Riverton Park, movies that cost a dime on Park Street and skating at Deering Oaks.
He had a lifelong interest in public transportation and public hiking and biking trails. He made an early documentary on “rails and trails” (where he met his dear friend Polly Bennell); and was an original member and strong supporter of Portland Trails with early meetings being held in his living room. Most recently he was honored for his contribution, along with other family members, to the Filling the Gap Campaign of the Eastern Trail Alliance, an off road biking and walking path from Portland to Kittery.
He also was a recipient of an honorary degree from Maine College of Art.
He travelled extensively, often taking one or more grandchild on a trip to Europe, Canada, or the British Isles. He also continued to travel in later years to Egypt, Greece, China, Jordan, and Turkey and Russia.
In his long life, he met and crossed paths with many friends and acquaintances throughout Portland – he volunteered in the afterschool poetry program at Reiche; worked at the International Free Clinic at Maine Medical Center, frequently attended public hearings at City Hall; annually attended the Martin Luther King breakfast at the Holiday Inn; tutored new Immigrants in English, and worked at the food pantry and clothes pantry. He was well known for his unsettling habit of raising his hand and hurling a show stopping comment or question into the middle of many a meeting or presentation.
As a lifelong member of State Street Church, he taught Sunday School and contributed to the spiritual discourse and reading group discussions at the church. In the late 60s he helped start The Gate, one of the original coffeehouses and gathering spots in Portland for youth, musicians and political activists. He was often seen jogging on the West End or rowing his boat in Portland Harbor. His commitment to the importance of exercise and good nutrition certainly contributed to his long life.
Later in life, he self-published a number of books including one on his life as a physician in Maine titled Comfort My People – which could be the title of his life – committed to helping others and bringing joy and humor to those around him.
He will be remembered by his loving family and friends for his warmth and caring, his sharp wit, humor, and impish grin and the ever-present twinkle in his eye.
The family would particularly like to thank the staff at 75 State Street and VNA Northern Light Home Care and Hospice, who cared for Dr. Phil with kindness, humor, patience and understanding in the last few years and months of his life.
A memorial service in celebration of his life will be held at 2 pm on August 17, 2019 at State Street Church.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to:
Portland Trails
305 Commercial Street, Portland, Maine 04101
Maine College of Art
522 Congress Street, Portland, Maine 04101
Northern Light Home Care and Hospice
C/0 Jackie Welsch
50 Foden Road, South Portland, Maine 04106
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